Mother gives birth to own grandchild to give her gay son and his husband a baby….

In all honesty, I cannot and will not remain silent about this situation, and I'm here to say, on God’s behalf, that this is wrong on EVERY level! 

Homosexuality destroys the "Image of God" because there is no way they can pro-create without help. While that woman clearly wanted to help her “gay” son have a child of his own, it could only be accomplished via MAN's scientific methods. It was NOT natural, and I feel sorry for that poor baby.

America has truly become Sodom and Gemorrah, where NOTHING is off limits. What ADONAI thinks has become totally ignored and irrelevant, because, it seems, the ONLY thing that matters is what WE humans think

We're out of control - period! We've got not only homosexuality, but phenomena such as "transgenderism",and what people are calling "fluid sexuality" today (where one can decide "whatever gender" they wish to emulate on any given day, or whether they want to have sex with men or women).

Nobody seems to remember or care that YHWH is not a God of confusion. When He created man, He made them male and female - two genders that are called to not only reflect the image and likeness of ELHIM, but to also represent Him in the stewardship of His good and wonderful creation (Genesis 1:28-29).

Male and female also reflect YHWH in the unity in marriage when they become "one flesh" (see Genesis 2:23-24; Matthew 19: 3-6; Mark 10: 6-9; Ephesians 5:28-32) and thus bring forth new life that will also reflect His Holy Image (character). When we are "fruitful and multiply and fill the earth," we spread God's image around the world (Genesis 1:28).

To actively deny or reject this privilege by attempting to tamper with the gender HE assigned you (or to literally manufacture a baby to force-fit into your particular lifestyle), is not only a grievous sin, but it is also basically a slap in the Face of our Creator!

Here's what our Creator said - and what HE says is etched in granite!

Genesis 1:27 So God created humankind in his own image; in the image of God he created him: male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them: God said to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it..." (CJB)

Deuteronomy 22:5 "A woman is not to wear men's clothing, and a man is not to put on women's clothing, for whoever does these things is detestable to ADONAI your God. (CJB)

Leviticus 18:22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.

Leviticus 20:13 If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.

Romans 1: 22 Claiming to be wise, they have become fools! 23 In fact, they have exchanged the glory of the immortal God for mere images, like a mortal human being, or like birds, animals or reptiles! 24 This is why God has given them up to the vileness of their hearts' lusts, to the shameful misuse of each other's bodies. 25 They have exchanged the truth of God for falsehood, by worshiping and serving created things, rather than the Creator - praised be he for ever. Amen.

26 This is why God has given them up to degrading passions; so that their women exchange natural sexual relations for unnatural; 27 and likewise the men, giving up natural relations with the opposite sex, burn with passion for one another, men committing shameful acts with other men and receiving in their own persons the penalty appropriate to their perversion.

28 In other words, since they have not considered God worth knowing, God has given them up to worthless ways of thinking; so that they do improper things. 29 They are filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and vice; stuffed with jealousy, murder, quarreling, dishonesty and ill-will; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God; they are insolent, arrogant and boastful; they plan evil schemes; they disobey their parents; 31 they are brainless, faithless, heartless and ruthless.

32 They know well enough God's righteous decree that people who do such things deserve to die; yet not only do they keep doing them, but they applaud others who do the same.

2 Peter 2: 19. And they promise them liberty while they themselves are the slaves of corruption: for, by whatever thing a man is vanquished, to that is he enslaved. 20. For if, when they have escaped the pollutions of the world by the knowledge of our Master and Redeemer Y'shua the Mashiyach, they become again involved in the same and are vanquished, their latter state is worse than the former.

21. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after having known (it), to turn back from the Set Apart Commandment that was delivered to them. 22. But the true proverb has happened to them: the dog returns to his vomit and the pig that was washed, to her wallowing in the mire.

Revelation 22:14 How blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they have the right to eat from the Tree of Life and go through the gates into the city! 15 Outside are the homosexuals, those who misuse drugs in connection with the occult, the sexually immoral, murderers, idol-worshippers, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

Many pastors tell their flocks that "it's okay to be gay" and they cater to the tired mantra, "We're born that way." I challenge them to think about this: Would the Creator purposely cause someone to be "born gay" only to then turn around and make their lives miserable by telling them their acts are "an abomination?"

Please stop the endless bickering over “identity”

It really pains me to see people concentrating on everything BUT haShem’s Rules for Holy Living!

If it’s not some Two Housers endlessly bragging about how they’re “Ephraim” and bringing every conversation around to “tribal identity”, then it’s the Native Americans pushing their “Reform Movement” that focuses on religious rights, civil rights, and “tribal sovereignty.” And, of course, the Black Hebrew Israelites and their ilk insisting only Black people are Jews and everyone else is a worthless dirt bag...

What is going on? WHY does everybody want to puff themselves up to be “special” and “better” than everyone else?

Doesn’t anyone remember that we are ONE IN MESSIAH?

Galatians 3: “28 there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor freeman, neither male nor female; for in union with the Messiah Yeshua, you are all one. 29 Also, if you belong to the Messiah, you are seed of Avraham and heirs according to the promise.” (CJB)

YHWH created each of us to be special unto Him – all different colors and personalities – yet ALL are special to Him. Every “tribe” of Israel and all the Gentiles who have accepted Him as their ELOHIM are special to Him! He created us to be SET APART FROM THE WORLD … to worship and obey Him only; NOT to engage in endless fights over Him!

He doesn’t work that way! In His eyes, we either belong to Him by doing His Will and living a set-apart life unto Him, or we don’t. There is no gray area. Why not concentrate on THAT? He doesn’t see our race or color, or whether we are rich or poor; He looks at our hearts and wants us to be wholehearted toward HIM! He didn't create us to become bickering, arguing, narrow-minded, bigoted hypocrites, squabbling over which of us is more special..

So, please snap out of it people! Instead of promoting endless racial and tribal divisions in the body, why not do what Scripture TELLS us to do - which is to concentrate on obeying ADONAI by learning HIS ways and thus becoming ONE truly "set apart" people?

Malachi 2:10 "Do we not all have one father? Has not one ELOHIM created us? Why do we deal treacherously each against his brother so as to profane the covenant of our fathers?

Exodus 19: 5 Now if you will pay careful attention to what I say and keep my covenant, then you will be my own treasure from among all the peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you will be a kingdom of cohanim for me, a nation set apart.'These are the words you are to speak to the people of Isra'el." (CJB)

QUESTION: Who is Israel? ALL who have accepted the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! (See Numbers 15:13-16, etc.)

Psalm 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in UNITY!

Ephesians 4: 16. And from him (it is) the whole body is framed together and strongly melded by all the connecting points, according to the gift that is delivered by measure to each member for the growth of the body; that his structure may be perfected in love.

17. And this I say and testify by Master YHWH, that from now on you do not walk as the other Gentiles who walk in the vanity of their mind: 18. and they are dark in their understandings and are alienated from the life of Elohim because there is not in them knowledge; and because of the blindness of their heart

19. They have cut off their hope and have given themselves over to lust and to the practice of all uncleanness in their greed. 20. But you have not learned this from the Mashiyach; 21. If you have truly heard him, and by him have learned as the truth is in Y’shua.

22. But (you have learned) that you should lay aside your former practices the old man that is corrupted with the lusts of error; 23. and should be renewed in the spirit of your minds; 24. and should put on the new man that is created by Elohim in righteousness and in the separateness of truth. 25. Therefore, put away from lying and speak the truth each with his neighbor; for we are members one of another.

26. Be angry, but do not sin. Do not let the sun go down upon your wrath. 27. And give no place to the Accuser. 28. And let him that stole, steal no more; but let him labor with his hands and do good acts that he may have to give to him who needs.

29. Let no hateful language come from your mouth, but that which is beautiful and useful for edification that it may convey grace to those who hear. 30. And do not grieve the Ruach haKodesh of Elohim, whereby you are sealed for the day of redemption.

31. Let all bitterness and anger, and wrath, and clamoring and reviling, be taken from you along with all malice: 32. And be affectionate towards one another and sympathetic; and forgive one another as Elohim by the Mashiyach has forgiven us. (AENT)

(See also: Colossians 3:11, 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, and 12:13; Galatians 3:27, Ephesians 2:17-19 and 4:4-25, etc.)

Parashah 26: Sh'mini (Eighth) Leviticus 9:1 through 11:47

Shabbat shalom, mishpocah!  As always, an outline of this week’s Torah portion (Parsha 26 - Shemini: Torah: Leviticus 9:1-11:47 Haftorah: 2 Samuel 6:1-7:17 Brit Chadasha: Mark 7:1-23)can be found on our website.

We begin this week's study with a new sense of excitement as we get to experience the Spring Mo’edim - Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits and the Counting of the Omer that takes us into Shavuot/Pentecost. In the course of the celebration of these awesome appointments with the Creator each year, He invites us to study and learn about the great miracles He performed in the past, and will continue to perform in the future. During these celebrations we reflect upon (and testify to the world) His people's deliverance from oppression, the liberation from forced labor, the salvation through Yeshua who martyred himself on our behalf, and the redemption from bondage of all kinds

This parashah is powerful on several levels! First of all, Leviticus 10 gives us just a tiny inkling about what all transpired during the consecration of Aharon and his sons:

Leviticus 9: 6 Moshe said, "This is what ADONAI has ordered you to do, so that the glory of ADONAI will appear to you.

In how many of today's churches or Messianic synagogues do we get to see the "glory of ADONAI"? This is because most aren't doing anything to glorify Him! Most teachings don't reflect YHWH's Word; instead, they reflect man's interpretation or opinion. There isn't a religion on earth except for Judaism that comes close to what YHWH commanded. More on this later but, right now, let's skip to Leviticus 10:1-3 where YHWH gives His people a lesson in unmitigated obedience when He kills the sons of Aaron on the spot for adding "unauthorized fire before ADONAI":

Leviticus 10: 1 But Nadav and Avihu, sons of Aharon, each took his censer, put fire in it, laid incense on it, and offered unauthorized fire before ADONAI, something he had not ordered them to do. 2 At this, fire came forth from the presence of ADONAI and consumed them, so that they died in the presence of ADONAI. Moshe said to Aharon, "This is what ADONAI said: 'Through those who are near me I will be consecrated, and before all the people I will be glorified.'" Aharon kept silent.

Notice that Aharon was too stunned to speak over his the deaths of his sons. As a matter of fact, he and the others were so distraught, they couldn't even bring themselves to eat the goat of the sin offering as Moshe had ordered (Leviticus 16-20). How unimaginably tragic and shocking it must have been for Aharon yet, as high priest, he had no choice but to carry on with the holy activities! Nadav and Avihu were certainly not guilty of worshiping other gods or being purposely disrespectful; they apparently thought YHWH would be pleased if they added incense to the smoke....

As hard as it is to hear, unlike most priests, pastors and rabbis who are often prone to "think carnally" and overlook "little indiscretions," YHWH our God shows over and over again that He is NOT tolerant of anything that adds to or subtracts from His Word! (This is why we at The Refiner's Fire constantly reiterate the importance of stopping the nonsense of "religiosity" which insists it's okay for believers to ignore the Seventh Day Sabbath and the Biblical Feasts and to eat "unclean" foods.)

For more on this awesome Torah portion, please click on the link above.  Shabbat shalom!

The consequences of disobedience

Isaiah 9:13 Yet the people do not turn to the one striking them, they don't seek ADONAI-Tzva'ot. 14 Therefore ADONAI will cut off Isra'el's head and tail, [tall] palm frond and [lowly] reed in a single day. 15 The old and the honored are the head, while prophets teaching lies are the tail. 16 For those leading this people lead them astray, and those led by them are destroyed.

17 Therefore Adonai takes no joy in their young men and has no compassion on their orphans and widows; for everyone is ungodly and does evil, every mouth speaks foolishly. Even after all this, his anger remains, his upraised hand still threatens. 18 For wickedness burns like fire, it devours briars and thorns; it sets the forest underbrush ablaze, with clouds of smoke whirling upward. (CJB)

Many like to “talk the talk,” yet, have no clue that we must also “walk the walk.” They don’t really take ADONAI or His Word seriously, and cling for dear life only to the “God loves me and knows my heart” dogma.

Some (probably many) never bother reading or studying the weekly Torah portions, or to really delve into Scripture – and, sadly, many Messianic congregations don’t teach or preach on the importance of doing this. They place fellowship and praise and worship over and above the need to study the Word.

Lately, I’ve been discovering that many have never even read the Bible from cover to cover! How can you know whom you’re serving unless you’ve read it ALL?

I could go on, but you get the drift: Many are just plain “lukewarm”; not realizing that God is NOT kidding around! The lukewarm will NOT get to spend eternity with Him!

Revelation 3:16. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am about to vomit you from my mouth. 17. Because you say, I am rich and affluent, and have all I need; and you don’t know that you are helpless and miserable and needy and blind and naked!

18. I counsel you to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that you may become rich; and white robes, to be clothed, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be seen; and put eye-salve on your eyes, that you may see.

19. As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. Be faithful emulators therefore, and repent. 20. Behold, I have been standing at the door, and I will knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with me.

21. And to him that is victorious, to him will I give to sit with me on my throne, even as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22. He that has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. (AENT)

Since the very beginning ELOHIM has knocked Himself out to reach His people. He even provided ways for us to have weekly (seventh day Shabbat) and yearly (the mo'edim) "dates" with us. The least we could do is read His Word so we can learn how to become the holy/set apart people He intended us to be.

The Passover connection to Yeshua

Did you know that Yeshua was NOT a “sacrifice”? That’s because ADONAI never demanded human sacrifice.

(Yes, Abraham had Isaac gather firewood and lay down on the altar to be sacrificed, according to ADONAI’s command; but, as revealed later, it was simply a test for Abraham to examine himself on whether he was willing or unwilling to follow YHWH, no matter what (Genesis 22:2). We all know how the story ended – YHWH provided a ram, just in the nick of time.)

So, back to Yeshua, who was never meant to be a “sacrifice”. Why? Because (1) God didn’t tell anyone to “sacrifice” him; (2) nobody was told to spread his blood on the doorposts of their houses; and (3) the Pesach lambs weren't "sacrifices"!

(NOTE: In Exodus 12:6 the lambs are to be "slaughtered" [or "killed" depending on the version], while in Exodus 12:26-27, the act is said to be "the sacrifice of Adonai's Pesach". The fact is that it was NOT a sacrifice, since the lambs were not taken to the Temple [there was no temple!], and that the same word, "zeh-bakh" means "slaughter" or "offering" or "sacrifice" depending on the context. Only the ISR for Exodus 26:27 reads "It is the Passover slaughtering of יהוה,", rendering "zeh-bakh" properly.)

That is why Yeshua wasn’t exactly a "Passover Lamb”…

The simple Truth is, Yeshua martyred himself, thus redeeming us by voluntarily shedding his divine blood; and, in doing so, he redeemed us for our past sins (“our” referring to those who accepted YHWH [the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob] as their ELOHIM, and recognized that Yeshua was His Divine Messiah who martyred himself on our behalf).

If you’ll recall, YHWH always demanded blood sacrifices as a substitution/redemption for our lives, as you can see fully explained in our blog (https://blog.therefinersfire.org/…/what-sins-did-jesus-die-…). The bottom line of the article is that one’s salvation always required that blood substitution or redemption of one nephesh (soul) for another.

The possibility of that substitution of an animal at the Temple is gone; it has been replaced by your acceptance that the Messiah died for you, and redeemed you, so you can receive eternal life.

Yeshua volunteered to substitute His nephesh for yours, and yet, today, many reject the offer. Yeshua, sinless, MARTYRED himself, offering His blood for yours, against which there is NO Torah prohibition!

Some are claiming that Yeshua changed the meaning of Pesach - perhaps, because of the following verses:

1 Corinthians 5:7. Purge out from you the old leaven,[1] that you may be a new mass, as you are unleavened. For our Passover is the Mashiyach, who was slain for us. 8. Therefore let us celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of wickedness and bitterness, but with the leaven of purity and sanctity. (AENT)

NOTE: The word for “leaven” here in Hebrew is chometz. Therefore, Rav Shaul is teaching the Corinthians by using Passover imagery, by commanding them to purge the chometz from the house of their hearts, so that they can be sanctified. Of course, the rest of this verse and the next one prove this interpretation!

Notice also that this is Paul writing, not Yeshua speaking - and Paul is clearly relating the shed redeeming blood of the Messiah to that of the redeeming blood of the lamb at Pesach. But neither Paul, nor Yeshua “changed” the meaning of Pesach! Pesach in Paul’s time (and in Yeshua’s time) was celebrated in the same manner and for the same purpose as all of Judaism!

The claim might also have come from Luke 22:19-20 which reads: “Also, taking a piece of matzah, he made the b'rakhah, broke it, gave it to them and said, ‘This is my body, which is being given for you; do this in memory of me.’ He did the same with the cup after the meal, saying, ‘This cup is the New Covenant, ratified by my blood, which is being poured out for you.’” (CJB).

So, for those who believe “Jesus changed” the meaning of Pesach, please know that, that is simply not the case! Yeshua only expressed the remembrance of what He was about to do for the apostles and all mankind; that the life and redemption of the original pass-over for the Hebrews would forever be given to them by His redemptive blood. This in no way “changed” Pesach!

Let’s consider some parallels where we can see that the meaning of Pesach was in NO WAY changed:

1. At the original and only “pass-over” the blood of an unblemished lamb redeemed the firstborn of the Hebrews. Jesus is recognized as our “unblemished lamb” whose blood redeemed us. (1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5).

2. Jesus was killed the same afternoon as the lambs.

3. The sacrificed lamb “spared” the Hebrews (Exodus 12:27). Jesus’ (volunteer) substitution of Himself delivered mankind from bondage to sin and death (Romans 8:2).

4. The bones of the lamb were not broken. (Exodus 12:46). None of Jesus’ bones were broken. (John 19:33).

5. The lamb spared the firstborn from death, the consequence had the Hebrews sinned and not obeyed. (Exodus 12:12). Jesus spares from eternal death those who accept His redemption. (Leviticus 17:11, Revelation 1:5).

6. Even the disciples of Jesus recognized that Jesus changed nothing about Pesach but only provided for their redemption. They continued to celebrate Pesach but with the renewed “life” in the remembrance that now, they too, were saved as were the Hebrews in the one-and-only pass-over. “So then let us observe the festival, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of evil and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 Corinthians 5:8).

7. As with all the Pesach lambs, Yeshua was not “sacrificed” at the Temple, either!

As you surely know, Passover/Unleavened Bread/Hag HaMatzot celebrates the deliverance of the slaves from Egypt. It is the story of redemption by the killing of the Passover Lamb, the blood of which was applied to the doorposts while the Israelites were still in Egypt, shortly before their Exodus.

Obedience to the command to take a lamb into their homes for a few days and then kill it for the purpose of spreading its blood on the doorposts ensured that their firstborn would be spared the Tenth Curse against Pharaoh who refused to let God's enslaved Chosen People leave Egypt.

When the Angel of Death passed through the land and saw the blood, he "passed over" those houses and spared the first born within (Exodus 12:1-13). The annual remembrance and celebration of Passover not only serves as a reminder of the events leading up to the Exodus from Egypt; but it is also the story of redemption through Messiah Yeshua, whose shed blood on the cross/stake freed Believers from the slavery of earthly bondage to “the world!”

In other words, Yeshua fulfilled this event when he was crucified.

And that is the whole connection: Yeshua was our substitute, our redemption - and by believing and always following YHWH's Torah to help us remain holy and sin-free, we have the chance for eternal life!

Shabbat shalom on this week of Pesach!

Shabbat shalom, mishpocah/friends/family! Since we at The Refiner’s Fire are celebrating the Passover holidays right now, there will be no regular Torah portion this week. Instead, we have been doing various readings, including these:

Today, on the High Shabbat-Feast of Unleavened Bread, 1st day Bill and I read: Exodus 12:21-51, Numbers 28:16-25, Joshua 3:5-7, 5:2-6:1; Luke 2:41-52 (Omer count begins at sunset).

Tomorrow/Saturday, 6 Nisan - "FirstFruits" - 1st full day of Omer: Leviticus 22:26-23:44, Numbers 28:16-25, 2 Kings 23:1-9, 21-25; John 18:28-40

Shabbat of the week of Pesach/FULB: Exodus 33:12-34:26, Numbers 28:16-25, 2 Samuel 22:1-51, Luke 23:54-56.

Are you "hot", lukewarm" or "cold"?

Revelation 3:15. I know your works, that you are neither hot, nor cold; I would desire that you would be either cold or hot. 16. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am about to vomit you from my mouth.

We must constantly be asking ourselves whether we are "hot", lukewarm" or "cold". From what I can tell, most today seem to be "lukewarm" - basically pretending to be holy. We all know some "pretenders" - those who "talk the talk" but don't "walk the walk." None of us is "perfect" in haShem's eyes, but we should always do the best we possibly can. For instance ...

Those who have the Ruach within should become downright incensed if they see someone teaching and preaching falsehoods, or hawking the teachings of someone who does. I mean, I've never understood why a believer in Yeshua would want to forward the teachings of someone who DOESN’T believe in Yeshua, just because “they have lots of other really good teachings.”

I always like to ask, "would you knowingly eat brownies that have just a tiny bit of horse manure mixed into the dough because, 'after all, this person is known for GOOD brownies'?" If not, then stop fooling yourself into thinking you will always be discerning enough to be able to “chew the meat and spit out the bones” (as some are fond of saying).

I’ve seen the result of some of those who thought they had gathered “meat” unto themselves, and then ended up becoming “flat earthers" and conspiracy theorists, or rejecting Yeshua and the New Testament to start hanging out with Jewish counter-missionary rabbis and their ilk who sit around to engage in the endless bashing of "Jesus" and the New Testament (Ironic, isn't it, that they can’t quit talking about the one they’ve rejected?) … or becoming so disillusioned that atheism seemed like the most viable option….

We might want to do some spiritual adjustments if we find ourselves fighting correction of any kind. For instance, if I were openly flirting with some guy, I should expect to be reprimanded by my husband, or a sister or brother who witnessed me doing it. If I try to lie or argue my way out of it, whom am I really serving?

Which actually brings me to another point, and that is: If you have a problem with a brother or sister, Scripture commands that we go to THEM to discuss it, first, before we do anything else. We don’t go to others to gossip behind their backs….

Matthew 18: 15 "Moreover, if your brother commits a sin against you, go and show him his fault -- but privately, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. 16 If he doesn't listen, take one or two others with you so that every accusation can be supported by the testimony of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to hear them, tell the congregation; and if he refuses to listen even to the congregation, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax-collector. (CJB)

Yes, in order for us to make sure we are always on YHWH’s Path, we MUST do regular spiritual inventories, so we can be sure NOT to be confused with the assembly of Laodicea.

Let’s read the context of the whole passage in Revelation 3:

Revelation 3:15. I know your works, that you are neither hot, nor cold; I would desire that you would be either cold or hot. 16. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am about to vomit you from my mouth.

17. Because you say, I am rich and affluent, and have all I need; and you don’t know that you are helpless and miserable and needy and blind and naked! 18. I counsel you to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that you may become rich; and white robes, to be clothed, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be seen; and put eye-salve on your eyes, that you may see. 19. As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. Be faithful emulators therefore, and repent.

20. Behold, I have been standing at the door, and I will knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with me. 21. And to him that is victorious, to him will I give to sit with me on my throne, even as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22. He that has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. (AENT)

Yes, to make sure we remain on ADONAI's Path, we MUST do regular spiritual inventories; because in this lost world where we are surrounded by evil, it's easy to lose our way, if we're not careful.

A word about Joel Osteen’s teachings….

Southern Baptist Pastor Joel Osteen, as one of the guests on this morning’s “Good Morning America” news show, said something that really bugged me. While hawking his latest documentary about Jesus, he said that “Jesus is all about love, forgiveness, respect, being good to people and being selfless. His life was about lifting people up and teaching us to be a blessing to someone else.”

Not one mention of the fact that he died on our behalf and that his and only his blood redeemed us!

That's because - as Osteen said once in an interview with CBN News - he chooses to focus more "on the goodness of God and on living an obedient life rather than on sin," and that he tries "to teach Biblical principles in a simple way, emphasizing the power of love and a positive attitude."

Hmmm, I've read the Bible through many, many times, and nowhere do I see Yeshua concentrating all his efforts on the things that oozed from Osteen's lips. Yeshua was our Torah observant, tallit-wearing, Seventh Day Sabbath - and Feast - keeping Messiah who SAID he came to proclaim the Kingdom of YHWH and do everything his Father commanded him to do:

Luke 4: 43 "But he (Yeshua/Jesus) said, "I must preach the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent."

Luke 8: 1. And it happened after these things that Y'shua was going around in the cities and in the villages and was preaching and declaring the Kingdom of Elohim.

And check this out:

Acts 28: 23 "From morning till evening the Apostle Paul explained and declared the Kingdom of God and tried to convince people about Yeshua from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets."

Acts 24: 14. But this indeed I (Paul) acknowledge, that in that same doctrine of which they speak, I do serve the Elohim of my fathers, believing all the things written in Torah and in the prophets.

So, while His death, burial, and resurrection and showing Israel how to "walk the walk" were the MOST IMPORTANT parts of the Good News, Osteen's idea of "love, forgiveness, respect, being good to people, being selfless, and lifting people up (while certainly important) are NOT the crux of Yeshua's appearance!

ADONAI isn't just in the business of "saving" people – and neither was His Messiah!. As Creator and law giver, He is in the business of teaching us how to be good subjects in His Kingdom to come - and two thousand years ago, He used Messiah Yeshua to do just that! Where did those teachings originate? In Torah - which is what Yeshua taught! He didn't come to spout off fluff....

And by the way, if "Jesus abolished Torah at the cross" as Osteen and others teach, then why was EVERY believer completely Torah observant for one hundred years after Yeshua's death, including the Apostle Paul who was "caught" being Torah observant 29 years after Yeshua's death (Acts 21:23-24)? Was Paul a hypocrite, saying one thing and doing another; or were his teachings, perhaps, misunderstood unto this day?

Grrrr! I could go on, but I’ll shut up for now, but I have to say, if Osteen’s comments don’t irk you just a little bit, then you need to re-read the entire Bible, because “watered-down Gospel" is NOT what Yeshua taught.

“Once saved, always saved” isn’t biblical

You’ve all heard the phrase, “once saved, always saved,” espoused by various Christian denominations. In other words, just because Jesus shed his blood for you, you’re forgiven for anything and everything.

But do you realize that is not true? Why? Well, for one thing, that’s not what Scripture says; and secondly, by the sheer action of committing a sin, you’re literally forcing the Ruach (Holy Spirit) to commit the sin with you. HaShem does NOT allow that! Evil cannot abide with holiness.

Thirdly, YHWH’s Divine Messiah, Yeshua, didn't die for ongoing deliberate sins. Like the animal sin sacrifices we see in Leviticus, he martyred himself for our PAST sins. (See Colossians 2:13-14; Ephesians 1:13-14; Hebrews 10:26, etc.)  Like those animal sacrifices, which had to be done yearly to cover one’s sins for the year, Yeshua’s blood only atoned for what we have done in our past, to enable us to be clean enough to enter into YHWH’s Presence in the Holy of Holies, to pledge ourselves to Him.

It is imperative to remember that, for Yeshua’s blood to cover our deliberate FUTURE sins, he would have to die over and over again, every time we chose to commit a sin – and that can’t happen, because he could only die ONCE…

In other words, you got your chance to be redeemed, so don’t blow it!

Contrary to popular belief, prayer and repentance are NOT the only things required to be forgiven! We must also be willing to “turn from” our sins, and stop doing them, because we cannot willfully continue living in sin, and pretend we are a child of the Most High.

Whom are we worshiping if we deliberately continue to live in sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth (once we have realized that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is THE Creator who sent His Messiah whose divine blood served to redeem us for our PAST sins? Whom are we worshiping if we ignore the Ruach concerning our sins – the very Ruach that resides within us as a constant reminder of ADONAI’s Divine Rules

Hebrews 10: 26 For if we deliberately continue to sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but only the terrifying prospect of Judgment, or raging fire that will consume the enemies. (CJB)

(NOTE: The above Scripture is not referring to those unclean bondages that dwell in our flesh but to the conscious choices believers make. It refers not to our unintentional sins but to those we pursue knowingly and willingly.)

Here are Yeshua’s own words:

John 14: 15. If you love me, keep my Commandments. 16. And I will ask of my Father and He will give you another Redeemer[1] who will be with you forever. 17. The Spirit of Truth, He who the world is not able to receive because it has not seen Him, nor does know Him. But you know Him for He dwells with you and He is in you. 18. I will not leave you bereaved. For I will come to you in a little while.

19. And the world will not see me, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20. In that day you will know that I am in my Father and you are in me and I am in you. 21. He who has my Commandments with him and keeps them, he is who loves me and he who loves me will be loved by my Father. And I will love him and reveal myself to him. (AENT)

(NOTE: The Aramaic construct means “Redeemer” (not “advocate”), or “One who ends the curse.” By the indwelling of the Ruach haKodesh (Holy Spirit), our fallen nature is redeemed from the curse of Adam. By ending the curse, Messiah, as savior, more literally fulfills the office of Messiah as the “giver of lives.”)

I’m offering the following true example of deliberate sin as an illustration designed to drive home the severity and dreadful consequences of deliberate sinning:

Some years ago, there was a well-loved, married pastor in our area who had a huge, flourishing and ever-growing “mega-church” he had started in his basement decades ago. One day, this pastor got caught having a homosexual affair with a male masseur in another city which was approximately an hour’s drive away. At first, when confronted by a local news team, this beloved pastor tried to lie his way out of it, but then finally admitted to having had this affair for at least three years.

Consequently, he lost everything, except his wife, who opted to stay by his side as they left town and disappeared for a while.

The real tragedy was that, as a pastor, this guy KNEW how God feels about homosexuality, but he did it, anyway – which constituted a deliberate sin. So, he was not only guilty of lying and committing what God considers an abomination (Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13; Deuteronomy 22:5, Romans 1:22-32; 2 Peter 2:19; Revelation 22:14-15), but he also committed adultery - which, according to Torah is a sin that is to receive the death penalty (Exodus 20:12-14; Leviticus 20:10; Proverbs 6:32).

The Ruach always pricks our conscience when we’re about to sin, and this pastor’s homosexual lover was an hour's drive away - which means he had at least an HOUR of conscience pricking, which he clearly chose to ignore!

(How many times do you think the Ruach was with him when he was about to enter into this sinful sexual union? Once? Twice? My guess is ZERO – and that is why this pastor was able to continue to delude himself into believing that “Gawd knows my heart and surely he understands that I have needs….” Once the Ruach leaves, WHO is left to remind you that your carnal ways WILL result in your eternal separation from God?)

Anyway, in the end, this pastor was so deluded, so obstinate and so arrogant that, instead of spending the rest of his life repenting and trying to make things right with ADONAI, he instead returned two or three years later to do start a NEW church...one that is built on “tolerance” and not only accepts homosexuality as “normal”, but actually insists that God CONDONES homosexuality....

"Once saved, always saved?" I think not! Here’s why:

Numbers 15: 30 "'But an individual who does something wrong intentionally, whether a citizen or a foreigner, is blaspheming ADONAI. That person will be cut off from his people. (CJB)

Hebrews 6: 4. But they who have once descended to immersion and have tasted the gift from heaven and have received the Ruach haKodesh 5. and have tasted the good Word of Elohim and the power of the world to come, 6. cannot again sin and a second time be renewed to repentance; or a second time execute him on a stake and insult the Son of Elohim.

7. For the earth that drinks the rain which comes often upon it and produces the herb that is of use to those for whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from Elohim. 8. But if it should put forth thorns and briers, it would be discarded and be approaching closely to a curse, and its end would be a conflagration. (AENT)

2 Peter 2: 19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; for a person is slave to whatever has defeated him. 20 Indeed, if they have once escaped the pollutions of the world through knowing our Lord and Deliverer, Yeshua the Messiah, and then have again become entangled and defeated by them, their latter condition has become worse than their former. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the Way of righteousness than, fully knowing, to turn from the holy command delivered to them. (CJB)

How many of today's believers behave in a way they know is sinful and yet they go ahead and do what they feel like doing, anyway? That's because they mistakenly think Divine grace covers intentional sin. That is a huge misconception! Divine grace has made wonderful provision for unintentional sin. But there is no provision for intentional sin. The Bible tells us so.

Parashah 25: Tzav (Give an order) Leviticus 6:1 (6:8 in some versions) through 8:36

Shabbat shalom, mishpocah/family/friends!  As always, a synopsis of this week’s Torah portion (Parashah 25: Tzav (Give an order) Leviticus 6:1 (6:8 in some versions) through 8:36) can be found on our website.

In this week's parashah we will be studying the various offerings Israel was to make for YHWH: Burnt, grain, sin, guilt, consecration and peace (see Leviticus 7:37-38). Try to put yourself in the desert with YHWH's people who were doing their best to obey the commands He was relaying to them through Moshe. What a horrible sight it must have been to see hundreds of innocent animals sacrificed; how awful it must have been to hear their screams; how powerful the overwhelming stench of blood - and being reminded again that we are NOT to eat blood....

Leviticus 7: 26 You are not to eat any kind of blood, whether from birds or animals, in any of your homes. 27 Whoever eats any blood will be cut off from his people.'"

Leviticus 17: 11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for yourselves; for it is the blood that makes the atonement because of the life.

We today, can only surmise why YHWH ordered the killing of these animals, while literally putting Israel through some strange gyrations! The people (and remember, they numbered in the MILLIONS at that point!) were constantly reminded how powerful these sacrifices were, and that they were to be taken VERY seriously.

An "unclean" person was not allowed to eat any meat from the sacrifice of peace offerings made to ADONAI! If they did, they were to be "cut off" from YHWH's people! And yet today, we believe we can sin over and over again and get away with it, just because "Jesus died"? We believe we can ignore the commanded Seventh Day Sabbath and the Feasts and come up with our own "holy days"?

Please understand, we at The Refiner's Fire are NO experts when it comes to YHWH's sacrifices, but we do understand how significant they were/are to our Elohim. As a matter of fact, they were gifts for ADONAI (Leviticus 7:14)! The enemy has attempted to use these sacrifices in order to turn them into something seemingly evil, as is evidenced by the fact that they are mimicked (to a great extent) by satanists and other lost folks who sacrifice animals and drink their blood, etc. (Notice that YHWH was adamant that NO ONE is to ever drink blood, as the life force is in the blood [Leviticus 17:11-14.])

For more on this week’s Torah portion, please click on the link, above!

Christian is “outraged” at some of our teachings

READER COMMENT TO OUR WEBSITE:

I’m a King James-only, trinity-believing Christian who, frankly, is outraged at some of the things you teach! I find it sad that you and your ilk reject the Greek Primacy of the New Testament Scriptures, thus, opening up all kinds of new interpretations of the writings to the Body of Christ as they purpose to substitute specific Greek language that the Apostles actually used in their writings with what Hebrew Roots teachers consider to be Hebrew or Aramaic 'equivalents'. Give me a break!

OUR RESPONSE:

Thanks for your comments. You actually mentioned two things that must be addressed. First, since you are a King James-only adherent, we feel obligated to tell you that King James was solely responsible for creating the “trinity” concept – all because he chose to ADD a line to 1 John 5:7-8,

Verse 7- “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. in heaven.” This verse does NOT exist in the Peshitta nor the oldest Greek manuscripts of Aleph, A, B and the Vulgate. Christo-Paganism, which originated before Constantine, taught that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are numerically three separate beings, but yet “all the same” is a blatant violation of the First and Second Commandments (see Sh’mot/Exodus 20:1-6).

Rather than to type it all out here, we’ll just ask you to read our short article on this issue.

As for your comment about “Greek primacy” - you mean the primacy that resulted in not only mistranslated words, but entire concepts that totally removed the Hebraic meanings; and which have skewed the writings of Paul into oblivion, while making what you THINK Paul wrote, more important that what YHWH commanded and what Yeshua taught?

As an example, you're referring to the "primacy" that has turned "Miltha" to "logos" and the word "rope" into "camel" in Matthew 19:24, thus suggesting a camel was to go through the eye of a needle?

NOTE: In Matthew 19:24, the Aramaic word, Gamala, referred to a "heavy rope" rather than a "camel". Greek scholars puzzled over a camel passing through the eye of a needle, which is a physical impossibility. But, Yeshua was clearly not saying a rich man can't enter!

The footnote to this scripture in the Aramaic English New Testament explains that the "heavy rope" lesson teaches about a rich man entering into heaven, after he "unravels" his fortune strand by strand as Y'shua instructs. If his wealth was bound tightly and strong like a rope, it is to be unwound like threads which will pass through the eye of the needle! Careful attention is required to thread a needle; so are the rich obligated unto YHWH for how their wealth is acquired and dispersed. Theological attempts to "prove" the eye of the needle to be a geographical location have utterly failed.

And also, how about the word "cock" in Matthew 26:34, which became "rooster" (a concept around which entire Christian sermons have been built!); which, in reality was simply a slang Hebrew word “gaver”, referring NOT to an actual “rooster” but to the temple crier blowing his shofar!  The gaver was responsible for opening the temple before dawn and calling out loudly, two or three times to announce the early morning services.

If you really believe a chicken could do this, then we will gladly start believing in “Greek primacy!”

People are free to bash and rant about the Hebrew and Aramaic originals all they wish, but that in no way negates them and in no way makes the "Greek" versions somehow correct! The above are only a couple examples of mistranslated words; we haven't even begun to touch on the mistranslated/misunderstood CONCEPTS and CONTEXTS of certain subjects, or the horrific misunderstandings about Paul's writings....

If you wish to know more about this subject, please search the articles on our website, The Refiner’s Fire.

Do you have a problem acknowledging Yeshua as Messiah?

FOR THOSE WHO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH MESSIAH YESHUA, KNOW THIS:

Y'shua haMashiyach was a Hebrew born into the Tribe of Yehudah (Judah). He had to be, to inherit David's throne and fulfill Messianic promises. The prophets didn't talk about a Gospel being fulfilled by a Roman or a Philistine or a Babylonian.

If being a HEBREW were only confined to Israel, then how do we explain the ministry of Jonah to Nineveh? How do we explain ALL RACES being judged and perishing in the flood of Noah? What about Melichzedek, Jethro and Job - all righteous and obedient servants ACCORDING TO TORAH and ALL being outside of Israel?

Torah and Gospel are the same thing. Why? Because the Gospels refer back to the Torah, which is YHWH's Divine Instruction in Righteousness, without which we would have NO blueprint for moral, holy living! The "New Testament" in no way replaced the "Old"; it serves to affirm Torah!

Yeshua summarized the Gospels through the Ten Commandments and Deuteronomy 6:4. His disciples, like James, talk about "the perfect Torah that is liberty," and Paul to Timothy says "ALL Scripture is fit for reproof" including that inconvenient "Torah of the Jews" that the Bereans themselves followed and were praised for following.

Rav Shaul (Rabbi Paul) kept a Nazirite vow, performed circumcision at least once and fasted on Yom Kippur. He had to rush home for Shavuot (Pentecost) and kept Saturday Shabbat 84 times - just in the book of Acts alone.

John defined sin as "transgression of the LAW" - Torah. And this is 30+ years after the resurrection and 15 years after the events of Acts 15....

As John says, "the new commandment is the old one that you have had from the beginning" - so, please don't try to suggest that the Brit Chadasha is a bunch of malarkey!

No blood sacrifice is necessary?

COUNTER-MISSIONARY COMMENT:

It says in Ecclesiastes 12:13 the sum of it all to fear the L-rd and keep his commandments, no blood sacrifice, and the other thing if yeshua is our final sin sacrifice why is animal sacrifice coming back? But right now just like Hosea 6'6 - for I desire goodness not sacrifice, over and over he does tell them to repent, that is why when the messiah does it will be the final redemption.

THE NETZARIM RESPONSE:

No blood sacrifices? Hmmm. Let's check this out in context:

Ecclesiastes 12: 11 The sayings of the wise are as sharp as goads, and those given by leaders of assemblies are like well-fixed nails; [in this case,] they are presented by a single shepherd. 12 In addition, my son, take heed: one can write many books - there's no end to it; and one can study so much that it wearies the flesh. 13 Here is the final conclusion, now that you have heard everything: fear God, and keep his mitzvot; this is what being human is all about. CJB)

Yes, as humans we ARE to fear God and keep His mitzvot. But WHERE and HOW does this scripture suggest that we no longer require SIN sacrifices? The entire Torah is about who YHWH is and how to worship Him by keeping His Mitzvot - which include over and over again the need for SIN sacrifices!

By suggesting that the above has somehow abolished the need for sin sacrifices, you are doing exactly what you are accusing Christians of: You are picking and choosing and MISQUOTING! You have done exactly what all other counter-missionaries do, which is to take Scripture out of context. Let's take a look:

Hosea 6: 1 Come, let us return to ADONAI; for he has torn, and he will heal us; he has struck, and he will bind our wounds. 2 After two days, he will revive us; on the third day, he will raise us up; and we will live in his presence. 3 Let us know, let us strive to know ADONAI. That he will come is as certain as morning; he will come to us like the rain, like the spring rains that water the earth.

4 "Efrayim, what should I do to you? Y'hudah, what should I do to you? For your 'faithful love' is like a morning cloud, like dew that disappears quickly. 5 This is why I have cut them to pieces by the prophets, slaughtered them with the words from my mouth - the judgment on you shines out like light. 6 For what I desire is mercy, not sacrifices, knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. 7 "But they, just like men, have broken the covenant, they have been faithless in dealing with me.

8 Gil'ad is a city of criminals, covered with bloody footprints; 9 just as bands of robbers wait to ambush someone, so does a gang of cohanim. They commit murder on the road to Sh'khem! Their conduct is an outrage! 10 In the house of Isra'el I have seen a horrible thing; whoring is found there in Efrayim, Isra'el is defiled. 11 For you, too, Y'hudah, a harvest will come! "When I restore the fortunes of my people, (CJB)

The deeper answer is basically that the sacrifices return as a REMEMBRANCE because per Hebrews, Yeshua is now our high priest with atonements "better than these". That is why Yeshua said, "someone greater the Solomon is here" because Solomon built the Temple in the first place.

The idea of the remembrance is no real stretch because if Yeshua is our atonement, the atonement can't be in the sacrifices of beasts and the reality is, IT NEVER WAS! (Micah 6, Hosea 6:6, Isaiah 1)...It seems that YHWH demanded blood sacrifices because the life force is in the blood ( Lev. 17:10-14; Deut. 12:23-28). It was an act of obedience we were to comply with to make us realize how very bad SINNING is....

Finally, the "sacrifice" of Messiah on the execution stake (ever notice that NOBODY "sacrificed him; he martyred himself, against which there is no law!) has UNIQUE RULES that have no precedent prior, nor will ever be repeated again.

This is not just in Hebrews 9, by the way. It is also in Zechariah 12:10 where Messiah houses YHWH's spirit (YHWH is speaking and is metaphorically "pierced" but they MOURN FOR HIM AS AN ONLY [YACHID] BEGOTTEN SON.)

The word YACHID is an exclusive singularity, as in never before and never again. Therefore, while some aspects of Yeshua's time on the stake RESEMBLE sacrifices of animals and such, THERE ARE PARTS OF IT THAT ONLY RELATE TO HIM EXCLUSIVELY. One of these is the eternal atoning power of believing in that sacrifice, but there are others.

Every moving thing that lives will be food for you?

Someone recently requested clarification of Genesis 9:3 which says:

Genesis 9:3 [Speaking to Noach] "Every moving thing that lives will be food for you; just as I gave you green plants before, so now I give you everything"

[Now don't get ahead of me here! In Genesis 9:3, YHWH is NOT saying that "every" animal is food for Noach and his family; rather, see Genesis 7:2 - YHWH tells Noach to take into the Ark "Of every clean animal you are to take seven couples, and of the animals that are not clean, one couple". So Noach already knew which animals were clean and which were unclean! Thus, by the commandment in Genesis 9:3 which says "Every moving thing that lives will be food for you", it can only mean "clean moving things" to Noach.]

Do take note that the first we hear of what humans can eat is in Genesis and it is "every seed-bearing plant" and every tree with "seed-bearing fruit". Therefore we already have a sense that YHWH intended only certain things for us to eat, for while telling us we can eat seed-bearing fruits and plants, it simultaneously implies that plants that do not bear seeds, we cannot eat! This is a most important understanding!

Take note also that during the creation, YHWH gives every wild animal, bird in the air, and creature crawling on the earth "as food every kind of green plant"! So it seems that YHWH intended EVERY animal, bird and creature to eat green plants!

For more on this issue, please check out our two articles explaining what constitutes "clean" food": Clean food? and Eating kosher.

With whom did God make His “New Covenant?”

As you all know, ADONAI, through the Prophet Jeremiah, spoke of the New Covenant … a covenant still in the process of unfolding. Notice with whom this covenant was to be made: the Torah observant Houses of Israel and Judah! (It was NOT made with Catholics, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Hare Krishnas, Buddhist, Gentiles, or anyone who worships gods other than THE Creator – יהוה (Yud Hey Vav Hey), the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.)

Jeremiah 31: 31 "Here, the days are coming," says ADONAI, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Isra'el and with the house of Y'hudah.  32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers on the day I took them by their hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt; because they, for their part, violated my covenant, even though I, for my part, was a husband to them," says ADONAI.

33"For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Isra'el after those days," says ADONAI: "I will put my Torah within them and write it on their hearts; I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will any of them teach his fellow community member or his brother, 'Know ADONAI'; for all will know me, from the least of them to the greatest; because I will forgive their wickednesses and remember their sins no more."

35 This is what ADONAI says, who gives the sun as light for the day, who ordained the laws for the moon and stars to provide light for the night, who stirs up the sea until its waves roar -- ADONAI-Tzva'ot is his name: 36 "If these laws leave my presence," says ADONAI, "then the offspring of Isra'el will stop being a nation in my presence forever." 37 This is what ADONAI says: "If the sky above can be measured and the foundations of the earth be fathomed, then I will reject all the offspring of Isra'el for all that they have done," says ADONAI. (CJB)

Notice that this “New Covenant” is still unfolding because people still don’t yet have Torah “written on their hearts”. Nobody is born “knowing the Torah”; they still have to be open to receiving it.

Notice also that the “offspring of Israel” will remain a nation forever... and that this is contingent upon obedience to His Torah laws. So, what does this mean for those who are grafted in to Israel?

Simple: Same God, same rules! Torah applies to ALL who have accepted YHWH as their God and who believe that He sent His Divine Messiah to earth to proclaim the Kingdom (Luke 4: 43; 8:1) and do everything he was commanded to do (Deuteronomy 18:15-17; John 12”44-49) – and willingly martyred himself on our behalf.

Numbers 15:13 "'Every citizen is to do these things in this way when presenting an offering made by fire as a fragrant aroma for ADONAI. 14 If a foreigner stays with you - or whoever may be with you, through all your generations - and he wants to bring an offering made by fire as a fragrant aroma for ADONAI, he is to do the same as you. 15 For this community there will be the same law for you as for the foreigner living with you; this is a permanent regulation through all your generations; the foreigner is to be treated the same way before ADONAI as yourselves. 16 The same Torah and standard of judgment will apply to both you and the foreigner living with you.'" (CJB)

Deuteronomy 29:9 Therefore, observe the words of this covenant and obey them; so that you can make everything you do prosper. 10 "Today you are standing, all of you, before ADONAI your God - your heads, your tribes, your leaders and your officers - all the men of Isra'el, 11 along with your little ones, your wives and your foreigners here with you in your camp, from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water.

12 The purpose is that you should enter into the covenant of ADONAI your God and into his oath which ADONAI your God is making with you today, 13 so that he can establish you today for himself as a people, and so that for you he will be God -as he said to you and as he swore to your ancestors, to Avraham, Yitz'chak and Ya'akov. 14 "But I am not making this covenant and this oath only with you. 15 Rather, I am making it both with him who is standing here with us today before ADONAI our God and also with him who is not here with us today. (CJB)

To reiterate:

As you can see: Same God, same rules!

So, the question remains: Are YOU part of the “New Covenant” … or are you among the myriads simply “religion-hopping”; who keep playing around with the Word in an attempt to force God to be and do what they imagine in their minds?

HINT: ADONAI doesn’t work that way….

A meme created by someone who doesn’t know Scripture!

Oh, what a great and "set apart" world we would have if only people read their Bibles from cover to cover, without those "Greek glasses!"  But they don't ... and that is why "Jesus" was turned into a Torah-less entity who seems to teach against Torah, thus defying his Father's commands.

Would the REAL Messiah (Yeshua, whose name means "YHWH is Salvation"; and who was the "Word" and the "Arm" - John 1:1, 14 and Isaiah 53:1) EVER have taught against Torah?

NO! Please check out our article to find out why the idea behind this meme is straight from the pits of hell.

Parashah 24: Vayikra (He called) Leviticus 1:1 through 5:26

Halleluyah - another Shabbat is on the horizon!  As always, you can find a synopsis of this week’s Torah portion (Parashah 24: Vayikra (He called) Leviticus 1:1 through 5:26) on our website.

This week's parashah is another hard to grasp study as it's all about the offerings of various kinds, to include sin, guilt, peace and burnt offerings. While it can be boring, confusing and downright hard to read about these offerings with our modern mindsets, we must always remember that the idea was for people to learn to obey and please YHWH with their whole being … to recognize the horrible consequences of sin … to appreciate that His desire for people was to be HOLY in every aspect of their lives.

Holiness begets holiness; while sin begets more sin and leads to death (eternity away from YHWH). YHWH simply wanted (and still wants) His people to be CLEAN from the inside-out and to keep Him constantly in mind in all things.

The message that comes across loud and clear in this parashah, however, is that YHWH's intentions were to draw and keep us close at all times. What we have witnessed over and over again in the last several parashahs is the fact that He cares enough to admonish us into doing things HIS way so that we can truly know Him and have a real relationship with Him - even though it often meant that He would employ some very harsh measures to force His people to GET what He was saying. (He wants us to "be holy" - look ahead to Leviticus 11:44).

Note that, whenever YHWH's people sinned, He didn't say, "If you love Me, go to the field and pick me a flower."  No! He demanded something much harsher: Blood from an innocent animal that had to die to atone for the sins of man. He expected His people to KILL something to atone for their guilt and sin, thus driving home the point that He is very adamant about mankind's refraining from sin, as much as possible. Drawing blood sticks in our minds a lot longer than picking a flower or something equally as simple....

For more on this week’s Torah portion, please click on the link above.

What did Yeshua really mean when he said, “Eat my flesh and drink my blood?”

The plain and simple fact is, he certainly didn't mean it to be literal - yet,many are rejecting Messiah Yeshua and flocking to traditional Judaism because of this passage! Let's check it out:

John 6:53. And Y’shua said to them, Amen, amen I say to you, that unless you eat the body of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in Qnoma.[1] 54. And he who eats from my body and drinks from my blood has life that is everlasting, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55. For truly my body is food and truly my blood is drink.

FOOTNOTE:

[1] Qnoma, usually translated here as “you”, “self”, or “yourselves”, but literally means “Underlying substance.”. The body/blood imagery is metaphoric. Y’shua, of course, knows very well that it is an abomination to drink any kind of blood, let alone human blood (Leviticus 17:11).

Consuming human flesh is also an abomination that is strictly prohibited. Rabbis even suggest that part of the reason swine’s flesh is forbidden is because it resembles human skin.

There are two underlying parts:

Part 1 recalls the imagery of Ezekiel 3:1-15 where the prophet actually ate a Torah scroll; the imagery symbolizing the prophet being sustained by and proclaiming Torah, which is the essence of what Y’shua is teaching.

Y’shua’s example and teaching are to be part of our innermost being, literally taken in and ingested into our hearts. This imagery is also seen in Mark 7:19 which distinguishes between physical food and spiritual (heart) “food”, and Jeremiah 31:33 which speaks of writing Torah upon the heart.

Part 2 is the life which Y’shua refers to; it is not physicality, as “self”, but the core essence of being, literally of the neshama, (spirit of man).

Moving on to the next part of that particular passage, which Jewish counter-missionaries and their followers love to tout as a reason to "reject Jesus.":

John 6:56. He who eats my body and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him. 57. As the Living Father has sent me, and I live because of the Father, and whoever eats of me he also will live because of me. 58. This is the Bread that has descended from Heaven. It is not as manna your forefathers ate and died. He who eats this Bread will live forever! [2] (AENT)

FOOTNOTE:

[2] Clear evidence that opposes the “communion” model of mainstream Christian institutions. Nothing is being eaten while Y’shua is making this statement; he had just levied a rebuke for their desire of physical rather than spiritual “bread.”

It is Faith in Y’shua as Mashiyach which causes a person to “eat the flesh and drink the blood.” The “wafer” (transubstitution) is a Pagan adulteration against Y’shua’s teaching.

Y’shua observed Torah to perfection; his perfect atoning sacrifice would be remembered specifically on the Moedim (YHWH’s feasts) as the Word of YHWH instructs.

TO SIMPLIFY:

The wine and wafer custom used in communion is "pagan" because it represents Yeshua's blood and body - a thing that is considered cannibalism in Scripture, which is a terrible evil. God commands His people NOT drink blood or eat human flesh:

Genesis 9:4 only flesh with its life, which is its blood, you are not to eat. 5 I will certainly demand an accounting for the blood of your lives: I will demand it from every animal and from every human being. I will demand from every human being an accounting for the life of his fellow human being. 6 Whoever sheds human blood, by a human being will his own blood be shed; for God made human beings in his image. (CJB)

The bottom line is that Yeshua was simply using a metaphor! And in case you’re wondering about the verse in the NT that says the Messiah is the Torah made flesh, there is a great explanation about this passage in the Aramaic English New Testament.

Let's check it out:

John 1:1. In the beginning[1] was the Miltha.[2] And that Miltha was with Elohim. And Elohim was that Miltha. 2. This was with Elohim in the beginning.[3]

John 1: 14. And the Miltha[4] became flesh and dwelt among us and we saw his glory,[5] the glory as the Only-Begotten[6] who is from the Father who is full of grace and truth. (AENT)

FOOTNOTES:

[1] The phrase B’resheet aytohi hwa miltha breaks a most basic rule of Aramaic grammar by combining a feminine noun (miltha) with two masculine verbs for “to be” (aytohi, hwa). This is unheard of in Aramaic literature other than right here in this passage and in 1 John.

This shows YHWH has male and female “images/spirits” even though YHWH remains a He. It may also be a midrash on Isaiah 11:1-2, which describes the Spirit of YHWH descending on Mashiyach using both masculine and feminine suffixes. This is not something easily translated, let alone when it occurs within the first four words.

[2] Miltha has no direct English equivalent. It can mean ‘Word’, ‘Manifestation’, ‘Instance’ or ‘Substance’ among other things. In this context, it may best be left untranslated.

[3] Fulfilling Messianic prophecy: Mashiyach (ruler of Israel) to have origins of the ancient past Micah 5:2; Isaiah 48:16. Bear in mind that Micah is referring to the spiritual “Israel of Elohim,” those of the Kingdom of Heaven according to the circumcision of heart.

[4] Miltha refers to the “Manifestation” of the Ruach haKodesh within Mashiyach. The physical body of Mashiyach is not the Word of YHWH, but his words and actions demonstrate the Will and Word of YHWH, which upholds observance of Torah.

However, Christo-Pagans like Marcion and Constantine taught that Y’shua’s body and spirit manifest a different “word” that did away with Torah. The Word of YHWH was substituted with dispensational and replacement “theologies,” which are very popular among Christians.

[5]  Isaiah 42:8; 48:11

[6]  Ekhadaya is a beautiful term used among Eastern theologians and poets; it literally means “THE ONE”

It is a real shame that many people – including some learned Jewish Rabbis! – cannot see the Hebraic context in the passages of the New Testament!

Did Yeshua commit blasphemy?

There is a huge faction on the Internet who are busy berating ADONAI's Divine Messiah, accusing him of "being a Christian idol" who committed blasphemy, and presented himself as God.

Well, that's not exactly true! Let's check out John 10 in context:

John 10:25. Y’shua answered and said to them, I have told you and you do not believe! And the works that I do in the Name of my Father they testify concerning me. 26. But you do not believe because you are not of my sheep, just as I have told you. 27. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they come after me. 28. And I give to them life that is eternal and they will not perish and no man will ever snatch them from my hands.

29. For my Father who gave them to me is greater than all, and no man is able to snatch them from the hands of my Father. 30. I and the Father are one. 31. And again the Yehudeans took up rocks to stone him. 32. Y’shua said to them, Many pleasing works from the presence of my Father I have shown you. For which of them do you stone me?

33. The Yehudeans said to him, “It is not because of the pleasing works that we stone you, rather because you do blaspheme and that while you are a Son of man you make yourself Elohim!” 34. Y’shua said to them Is it not written in your Torah that “I have told you that you are Elohim.” 35. If those people he called Elohim because the Miltha of Elohim was with them and Scripture is not able to be broken

36. To him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world you say, “You blaspheme!” concerning that I had told you that “I am the Son of Elohim.” 37. Unless I do the works of my Father, do not believe me. 38. If, however, I do them even if you do not believe me, you believe the works that you may know and believe that my Father is in me and I am in my Father. (AENT)

What Y’shua was trying to say in the verse 33, above, was that the Ruach of YHWH is within him, (Isaiah 11:1-2, Zechariah 12:10). He taught that while his nefesh would die, YHWH would reanimate both his neshama (human spirit/ruach) and nefesh (soul). Y’shua never claimed his nefesh was anything other than human and that as such, it would die.

Let's also remember that GOD cannot be born or die; which means there was more to Yeshua than meets the eye!  Please check out our indepth discussion on the phrase, “I and the Father are one” referring to verse 30.

In verse 34, he is referring to Psalm 82:6.

Referring to verse 38, in Isaiah 22:20-25 a priestly father is named Hilkiah (“my portion is YHWH”) and his son is Eliakim (Elohim raises) which foreshadows Mashiyach whose “portion” is YHWH, and who is raised up by Elohim.

Mashiyach is the first begotten of YHWH who suffers, then is raised up and then is given governance over all nations, kindreds, tongues and peoples as foreshadowed in verses 21-22:

“And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.” (Source: AENT)

Jews are correct in their attempts to keep their own from rejecting Torah in order to “accept Jesus" … but there’s more to it!

(A recent video by counter-missionary Rabbi Tovia Singer - asking for donations to his Jews for Judaism organization, prompted me to write the below.)

It’s no secret that I don’t like “counter-missionary” organizations such as Jews for Judaism – a network of Jewish rabbis who make their living berating Jesus; and spending all their time and energy “proving” that the New Testament is a myth.

On the other hand, I can certainly understand where Singer is coming from, because he is trying very hard to keep his Jewish brethren from falling into the gnarly clutches of Christian organizations such as Jews for Jesus, who knock themselves out to take Jews away from YHWH’s Torah (Divine Instructions in Righteousness) to bring them into one of the 40,000 different Christian “denominations”.

The truth is, Christianity, as a whole, is doing a great disservice to the Jews (and anyone else who obeys ADONAI’s Torah) because it insists “the law (Torah) is a curse” that was supposedly “abolished at the cross”; and suggests that Jews “aren’t completed” UNTIL they leave “that Old Testament stuff behind” and just “believe in Jesus.”

HUGE MISTAKE! By trying to take Jews away from Torah and all of their Jewish history, you are denying the importance, not only of God’s Torah, but also of the first two-thirds of the Bible. The last third is NOT the “only important part!”

The Bible – when read IN CONTEXT – in no way suggests that Torah was abolished, just because "the Son of God died.”

Yeshua (Messiah’s given Hebrew Name which means YAHWEH is Salvation) came NOT to bring a new religion called “Christianity”; he came to proclaim the Kingdom of ADONAI and do everything his Father commanded him to do (Luke 4:43; Luke 8:1; Acts 28:23 and Acts 24: 14).

YHWH said HE would send a prophet who was to do everything He ordered him to do (Deuteronomy 18:15-18, which ends with, “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kinsmen. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I order him.” Yeshua was that prophet!

Yeshua Himself said He came to do HIS FATHER's will; not His own (John 6:35-40). The Truth is, Yeshua was the Word or the "Manifestation" or the "Will of" YHWH coming down from heaven to do the Will of YHWH upon earth. His Spirit was of YHWH, but his nephesh (soul) and body were human and temporal. This shows that Yeshua was NOT in charge while on earth; HIS FATHER WAS!

So, the Jews are actually correct in trying to protect their own from this thing called “Christianity” – a religion that insists on turning the Messiah into God, over and above the Father Himself….

The bottom line is, Christianity is based NOT on Torah, but on the misunderstood writings of Paul (who, by the way, NEVER negated Torah!)…. (For more on the errors of Christianity, please check out the articles on our Examining Christianity page: https://therefinersfire.org/challenging_christianity.htm)

Now – back to Rabbi Singer and his urgent request for donations….

It would be one thing if he were simply trying to keep his fellow Jews from “Jesus”. But that is NOT all that Jews for Judaism does! They have, for decades now, been actively taking not only Jews away from Jesus; but also Christians, as well as Messianic and Hebrew Roots types – which is just as bad as Christians trying to take Jews away from Torah!

(Check out some of the counter-missionary viper pits sometime to see exactly what they say and do. You can read some of their allegations – along with our responses - on our website’s Countering the Counter-Missionaries page; as well as on my Facebook page of the same name.)

The truth is, because – no matter whatever else the Jews attempt to twist it into – Isaiah 53 foreshadows YHWH’s Messiah. Plain and simple. (See our article.)

It is an absolute death knell to the Word of God to TWIST His Word in ANY way, or to try to separate the Truth of YHWH/Yeshua/Torah. When you do those things, WHOM are you really worshiping?

BOTH sides need to snap out of their slumber and read the WHOLE Bible without their respective prejudices. YHWH and His Torah belong to everyone; not just the Jews! His Divine Instructions in Righteousness pertains to ALL - not just the Jews. And Yeshua and "Grace" weren't given only to the Christians.

SCRIPTURE SAYS SO!